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Story:The Xanj Project
The second story written on this wiki centres around the alliance between the Romans and the Xanji against the Greeks. It also, introduces emperors Tanzim of Rhoss and Augustus XV of Rome as two of the main characters of the Romanum universes. Synopsis With the New Greek Empire becoming more and more powerful, the Great Roman Empire has intrusted the Xanji government with the creation of a new weapon. However, a Roman scientist believes that the weapon in question, if used in the wrong hands, could prove even more dangerous than anticipated. Faced with the possible destruction of his people, he must learn the meaning of teamwork when he is joined with an inexperienced Greek spy, a beautiful Persian girl with a good aim, a down-on-his-luck Xanji inventor and a mysterious girl from a dead empire. Together they must discover what this new weapon is and, for the sake of all of humanity, destroy it. Conspiracy 'What do you mean 'e isn't 'ere yet!?' screamed a fierce male voice from within the Great Hall of the Temple ei Irium 'the meetin' was supposed to start twen'y minutes ago!' In the middle of the massive hall, obviously made to accommodate many thousands of monks, priests, beggers, thieves and all manner of low-lives seeking to repent for their sins, stood two men. A large, rather robust man was standing over a considerably smaller and thinner man holding a clipboard. 'W-w-w-well, S-s-sir...' -started the small man with an extremely high and shaky voice. 'Have you forgotten who I am, Savunis?' yelled the tall man 'I am Deru kwan Nenvutu, the king's pers'nal assistant an' if 'e doesn't like the way a job's done, he replaces you!' It was common for the Xanji accent and pronunciation to drift from cultured and courteous to colloquial and vulgar about every five or so words. Deru kwan, who was indeed the king's personal assistant, tended not to notice because he had practically spent half his life deafening himself by yelling at people, telling them to do things the king asked him to do. 'Yes Sir! I mean NO Sir! I mean...' Savunis struggled to find his feet. You often did when you were confronted by Nenvutu, well known for having them chopped off for something as simple as putting cheese in his ham sandwich by accident. 'Is there a problem, gentlemen?' said a soft, cold voice from the shadows. The two looked around in panic. Behind them, from out of nowhere, had appeared the tall, thin-yet-imposing figure of the king. Unlike most Xanjmen of the lowlands, whose skins were usually quite dark, Tanzim of Rhoss, high chairman of the Xanjin Technologist Imperium had skin so white that you could almost see his veins. This little detail often brought about speculation that he was, in fact, some kind of demon. These are of course exaggerations, he is merely a cybernetically enhanced individual. His eyes fell on Savunis. They quickly darted left and locked with Deru's and started to glow crimson red. 'Need I repeat myself?' he inquired after several seconds of silence. Deru felt as though his very soul was being read like a book. Tanzim was a very curious man. He was imposing yet at the same time his presence was almost calming. His sleak, black, greasy hair was neetly kept, he always looked as though he were going to a funeral with his long dark overcoat and gloves and his hands were always held behind his back. He was always polite and always respected the turn of word. Most people outside the empire might consider him a tyrant. Altough this wa a very strange kind of tyrrany: it was like a democracy, but when someone got into office, the only time they left was in a metal coffin. Tanzim had seen of several potential assassinations in his time, and would often pay citizens a great deal of money for their support in his reign. 'N-n-no, S-s-sir, I was merely...' started Deru. He stopped when Tanzim raised his hand and broke his gaze, much to Deru's relief and Savunis' interest. He wondered how a man that always seemed to be so polite could cause a man like Deru to freeze with fear. 'Ordering people about again, Deru?' he inquired with a slightly less polite tone. 'you really ought to take a more... hands-on approach to the tasks I give you.' 'Y-y-yes S-s-sir,' he said, ready to break down in tears. Tanzim turned back to Savunis, his eyes changing color once more to a shade of light blue. Savunis seemed strangely comfortable around the emperor. He would always thank him, and give him a small raise for a job well done. 'Now,' said the emperor. 'What is the situation 'ere, Savunis?' 'Well, Sir, the Roman Emperor was due to arrive twenty minutes ago.' he said. 'Is that all!?' said the emperor in a jovial tone. He gave a hearty laugh. 'Don't you worry, my young hayder (Xanji equivalent of a secretary), Augustus likes to be fashionably late.' It was that moment that the Imperial fanfare sounded, announcing the arrival of Augustus Ornelius XV, the elected Monarch of the Roman Empire. The hover-limousine glided through the gates of the Temple, and set itself down in front of the doors. The chaffeur, accompanied by two Praetorian Guards holding the most fashionable rifles in military history, subsequently stepped out of the limousine and opened a door towards the back, and the Emperor emerged, wearing not his Imperial robes, contrary to his official portraits, but a suit and tie, like a businessman. 'Augustus, mi vetus amice! Ego ad te suscipiat, renovatis noviter, Templum Rhoss.' shouted Tanzim, arms wide open. It amazed Savunis that he had such a great grasp of the Latino Nova language. 'Tibi gratias ago pro tepidus exspectata, Tanzim,' greeted Augustus politely. The two proceeded to shake hands.'Si autem volueris, et sermonem cœperimus,' Augustus announced. Glancing sideways, Tanzim noticed the bewildered look on Devu's face and added, 'Quod nisi te rogo, ut interpres eu nisi unum opus separatim.' in a slightly lower tone. The Roman emperor lifted a small device out of his pocket. He pressed a small button on the right side and clipped it to the pocket. 'If you insist, Tanzim,' he was now speaking in Xanju. Savunis then recognized the device as a universal translator. When the two had entered the building aling with the emperor's protection detail, Devu turned to Savunis with his usual "so-good-at-what-I-do-I-don't-need-to-do-it" look. He leaned towards the other and whispered into his ear: 'Recap the last few moments will you.' he said, still arrogant as ever. 'I'm not so good at Latin.' 'Well, I believe Emperor Tanzim greeted Emperor Augustus as an old friend; The Roman Emperor returned the greeting and announced that they would begin talks.' explained Savunis. 'Tanzim also asked Augustus to activate his universal translator or something.' 'Or some'fin!?' said Devu. 'I thought you were an expert!' 'On ancient Latin, Sir,' said Savunis calmly. 'I'm not so good with Latino Nova.' Devu walked away in great stides and with surprising speed for a man of his size, while Savunis tried to keep up. They entered a long briefing room where the two emperors where sitting alongside a Persian businessman and who they assumed was his daughter; a tall thin "man", if you could call the thing with a canine like-appearance sitting next to emperor Tanzim that; two large robotic sentinels and finally Anathema, lord Tanzim's Greek-born protégé. 'Ladies and gentlemen' said Tanzim in his characteristically jovial tone. 'We are gathered here today, to discuss the growing threat of the New Greek Empire.' The crowed all nodded in agreement. If you were a Greek politician, stuck in a room with these people, none of them would hesitate to punch you (except maybe Tanzim, Anathema and Savunis) if they felt like it. Nobody liked the Greeks: they were arrogant, snooty and never washed their hands after using the lavatories. Anathema, despite being born in that country herself, believed the Greeks had over-stayed their welcome: they looted supply vehicles, stole technology, executed Romans, Xanji and Persians for crimes they did not even commit and would not hesitate to shoot women with political views. The Xanji emperor continued: 'As you know, the current president of this...' he twisted his tongue. '"democracy" has apparently singed a military referendum to attack a large supply line near the Nexus.' Everyone exchanged looks of outrage. The Persian man stood up and exclaimed: 'That is Sacred Ground for all our peoples, including theirs! They would not dare set foot on it!' 'I'm afraid, Ire. Nickuru, you are mistaken' said Tanzim solemnly. 'they plan to invade and destroy the Nexus in about a month.' The Nexus. In ancient times it was a fortress, a simple construct serving as a defence outpost. Legend has it that the leaders of the Five Great Empires -a union of the Xanj, Persian, Roman, Old Greek and Hydronian empires- made a bold last-stand against a seemingly endless horde of barbarian scum. Through ether superior military tactics, Devine intervention or just dumb luck, the five emperors managed to not only hold of the horde but wipe them and their villages out. The empires entered into a pact that saw of invasions from Vandals, Visigoths and many other tribes. When the Hydronians fell and the New Greek empire took over Athens, it faded into myth. To this day the alliance has been remembered and the Nexus has become sacred ground to every empire, every religion. If the Greeks where to destroy it... any chance of peace in the world would disappear and it would end in total war. 'Then we have no choice' said Augustus, standing up. 'The Greeks must be stopped at all cost! Destroyed if necessary!' The crowd roared in agreement. The animalistic man, next to Tanzim cried: 'Here, Here! Down with all of those filthy, stinking sons of ...!'. He stopped when Tanzim nudged him and nodded in the direction of Anathema. He than stood up and cleared his throat. 'Then it is decided.' he began walking around the table. 'The Greeks are not evil, ladies and gentlemen, they merely possess a government very different to the ones we have chosen. They are a democracy, where every citizen, except women as I am told, has the right to vote. They can do nothing without the approval of the Polis and, in some-cases, the Great Senate.' The representatives were listening keenly. Even though he made this same speech every year at the Ceroma Pacifis, his voice was as hypnotic as ever, and everyone present new he had a very strong point. 'As the Nexus is sacred ground,' he continued. 'I find it hard to believe that a majority of citizens, even those fanatical zealots, would vote to destroy such an ancient and culturally important structure. This leads me to believe that the ether the Grand Senate or the Polis of Old Sparta, are conspiring to destroy it. Why? I can not say. But if they succeed, they will deal a critical blow to those who rely on their faith in order to maintain their society. The SDTM, for example, have always believed the Nexus to be the final destination of those who fell in battle; the old Roman's believed that Mars came down to Earth and gave them devine weaponrey to fight the barbarians, et cetera.' He finished his speech as quickly as it had begun. It seemed only a few seconds long, but all present had absorbed the information and were now conferring with each-other. 'Nether the less,' he said quickly. 'they are still a threat and all threats must be dealt with quickly and efficiently. That is why my finest scientists and engineers to create... something new. The weapon to end all weapons. The greatest, THE MOST EPIC...! he stopped, sniggered and corrected himself. 'well you get the picture.' 'What is this weapon, Tanzim? inquired the Persian Ambassador. 'Oh, I assure you, it will be a very... interesting experiment.' he said with an unusually sinister tone. A Strange Visitor 'By Jupiter...!' he cried when he looked at the schematic layed out on his desk. Scientist Antony Orselius was one of the few people left in the Roman Empire that still practised the ancient polytheistic religion. He spent most of his days looking at plans. Most of them were plans and discussions of ways of improving the Economic and Social aspects of the Roman Empire. But this morning was different. A tall man in a black overcoat had approached him in his laboratory, and given him a piece of parchment with information on a weapon with some very... distressing characteristics. "Project Death-X", which could, as far as he could tell, spread progressively and potentially wipe out an area the size of the city of Rome in under an hour. Orselius could not believe what he was reading. He could not bring himself to believe that, for one moment, emperor Augustus would commission such a horrific project. He rolled up the parchment and made his way to the Grand Hall of what was originally the Temple of Saturn. 'Your Highness,' said Orselius, bowing to Augustus, who was sitting on his throne in the middle of the room. 'I have some... concerns, regarding the project that was delivered to me this morning. The emperor looked puzzled. He pondered for a moment and then said: 'I was not aware of any delivery made to your lab this morning, professor.' 'Well, I believe that to be the least important semantic at the moment, sir.' said Orselius, turning the events of this morning over in his mind. 'The specifications for this... device, lead me to believe...' he hesitated. 'that is to say, in my professional opinion, constructing this weapon would be, at best, inadvisable.' The emperor did not flinch an mere stared at the scientist in front of him. He replied a moment later: 'You know the Greeks haven't been very friendly with our diplomats lately, don't you? They have even gone so far as to behead them! 'I realise that, your Highness,' explained the learned scientist. 'However, this weapon, if used in the wrong hands, could result in the destruction of every single superpower in the world!' 'What is that supposed to mean?' asked Augustus. 'Surely it is not THAT dangerous.' He attempted to explain to the intelligent, yet inhumanly stubborn emperor the exact workings of the device. After hearing the scientists argument, he merely sat back on his chair and took a closer look at the parchment. On it, in the bottom left corner, was a small what one might call "signature" that looked like interlaced snakes with the occasional little circle or apostrophe. He recognized the lettering as a rather old incarnation of Xanju script. Translating directly, it said: to my old friend, the solution to our Greek problem. Orselius had hoped that he had convinced Augustus to stop the project, but instead, Augustus replied 'Well, we'll just have to make sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands won't we.' 'We shouldn't even be considering building it, sir! exclaimed Orelius. 'We won't be, professor.' replied the emperor in a dismal tone. 'We don't have the luxury of meta-materials, in-depth biological research or an Open Border policy with Greeks.' 'Then who will be building it, sir? said Orelius, even more unnerved. 'The Xanj, who else?' replied the emperor. Orelius' heart sunk. The Xanj, while peaceful by nature, were devastatingly intelligent. If you asked them to, they would probably be able to devise several different ways of winning a prize draw without actually cheating. They were smart, but they lacked moral balance. Except, apparently, their leader. He was rumoured to have saved a young Greek girl from slavery merely out of the goodness of his heart. With someone like that in charge, would the Xanj really build this thing? 'Sir, I recommend you suspend all works on the...!' he began frantically. Augustus raised his hand and said: 'You are dismissed, professor. If you are found to have shared your findings with anyone outside this room, you will be hunted down with extreme prejudice. Do I make myself clear, Orelius?' he added coldly. His behaviour seemed very erratic. Usually he was a very easy going and peaceful man. The scientist bowed and then proceeded to slunk out of the room in dismay. A few days later he learned that the project had been green-lighted, and was already under way and Orselius had no way of stopping it. He thought to himself: Well, if he won't listen... then I have no choice, I'm going to stop this thing myself! add something about his family. We need a little break from the conspiracy stuff. The next morning, he made his way to a local transport station that would take him to Akrinj, the Xanjin Capitus. Both Sides The Temple ei Irium was THE most sacred place in the Xanj Imperium, next to the Nexus. And because of this it attracted the attention of many cultures and many different kinds of people. Monks, priests, tourists and your standard run-of-the-mil thief. Because of this, it needed high security and would always be guarded by the very polite, but not so bright Xanj Sentinel Orkhaj'Xon. He would always ask for a passport and if met with a weapon instead, he would politely pick them up by the neck, making sure not to crush too many bones and throw them out of the building. Today, he was met with a person who looked to be from around the area of N'Mae or Ko'Jhami. Even thinking of the latter made him cringe. He asked the traveller's name. The reply had a surprisingly foreign tone: 'Anni... Anniahok ai... Name!.' The sentinel responded: 'Would that not be N'Mae, sir?' and was quickly greeted with an over-enthusiastic "yes!". He handed the traveller a key card, a small piece of metal that allowed access through the main gate's force barrier. In doing so noticed that his hands were quite small and bony for someone from a place that has yielded seventeen "World's Strongest Man" champions. The man entered the temple only to be pulled out again. The sentinel's eyes had turned red. He said in a voice that would even make a Ko'Jhamian muscleman incontinent: 'YOU. ARE. Not. ON. THE. LIST (the name generally given to the Xanji citizen listing).' 'I-i-i'm not?' he managed to get this out with surprising ease considering he was being throttled by large mechanical hand.'Th-Th-There must be s-s-some mistake.' 'No mistake.' replied the automaton coldly. 'Ether give me a real name or be on your way.' 'Alright, alright!' he screamed. 'I'm a greek...tourist(?)' 'Really? We don't get many of your kind around here' said Xon. 'Political tension, mistrust all that stuff. Now, if you really wanna get into this temple, your gonna have to give me a...HEY! Come back here!' The man had struggled out of the automaton's grip and dashed over to his nearby vehicle and sped away at high speed. 'That' he thought to himself 'was too close!' Later on in the evening, when there were fewer tourists, "Anniahok" returned to the temple just as the sun was setting. Racking his brains to try and find a way in, he threw a stone into a window near Xon's position. It bounced right off the window without leaving so much as a scratch, but the sentinel left his post to investigate regardless. He walked over to the window, giving Anniahok the chance to run inside while Xon's back was turned. Luckily, the robot had forgotten to confiscate his entry card in the earlier fiasco. He slipped in and ducked behind a statue of emperor Xavazrin. He notice the small, thin figure of Savunis walking by with a info-panel in hand looking around to see where the strange noise had come from. 'Is there someone there?' he said, gazing at the nearby statue of Persian emperor Xei'Keian. 'If so, show yourself.' 'Jus' me, boss.' said Orkhaj. 'some urchin threw a rock at that there window and I...' What happened next was, by far, one of the biggest flops of a spy's carrier according to the book: A 1001 Ways to Fail at Spying. Anniahok had forgotten just how allergic he was to dust (Always make sure to take allergy pills before going into: a) an animal sanctuary, b) a feather duster factory or c) a place with lots of ''very old dusty statues ). He raised his head from behind the statue to see if he was heard (#675 in the book). The Sentinel did not appear to have heard him at all, but Savunis converged quickly on the spy's position. 'Ah, Ire... Anniahok, was it?' he said looking at the sentinel who in turn nodded. 'Ire Xavrin has been expecting you.' The spy looked up, bewildered into Savunis' round-but-rather-pointy face. And then everything went blank. ‘Ah, Ire "Anniahok",’ said a cold voice from across a large table. ‘we’ve been expectin’ you.’ Anniahok was unsure of what had happened in the last few minutes. Out of sheer luck, he had infiltrated the temple ei Irium. He remembered sneezing behind a statue, attracting the attention of a Xanji magistrate and a Sentinel. He remembered the short, thin man’s last words to him and after that he went blank. He figured maybe the sentinel had given him a clunk on the head and knocked him out. He was sat at a table, a very large decorative one, in the middle of a room with no lighting except for a small lantern hanging… no, hovering, a few feet above the centre of the table. Sat around the table were four other individuals. ‘Y’ know, one thing about Greek intelligence officers’ said the same, spine tingling voice from across the room. ‘they really oughta research the Xanj naming system a little better.’ 'Where am I?’ he responded automatically. This question tended to pop quite often in this kind situation. ‘Who are you?’ ‘All in good time, Ire (SPY'S_REAL_NAME).’ said another voice. From out of the shadows stepped a large round object that, upon further inspection, was Devu. He was wearing a suit a few sizes to small, and was accompanied by the young magistrate from the temple. He was reading an info-panel. Devu found himself a chair, very near (SPY_NAME)’s and sat down. It was a miracle the thing didn’t break under it’s occupant’s weight. Savunis sat the opposite him, still not taking his eyes of the info-panel. ‘How…? began (SPY_NAME) franticly. ‘...did we know your real name? Your wallet had a GREEK ID card in it, Ire (SPY_NAME)’ said Devu. ‘You dropped it during your botched attempt aat infiltrating the temple. I believe that’s #21 on the Top 100 Ways to be Bad at Spying, am I correct Ire Savunis?’ '#20, sir' said Savunis now typing something onto the info-panel. 'And "How did you know my name!?" is #12 in the Top 25 Most Cliche Questions in Espionage.' 'Aren't you guys supposed to use telepathy or something?' asked (SPY_NAME) wearily, convinced he still had some kind of concussion. 'Of course not!' snapped Devu. 'that stuff give us headaches!' 'I believe that's #23 on the list.' 'Thank you, Ire Savunis.' said the man at the opposite end of the table. 'but I think we should begin. Mister (SPY_NAME), would you be so kind as to give us a report on what is currently transpiring in New Greece. I believe you were instructed to do so by your superior, Ire Sotracus?' (SPY_NAME) couldn't say anything to contradict this. He had indeed been told by Head of Special Intelligence, Sotracus to give information on New Greece to a Xanji contact. He conceded and began: 'We-ell, as you know, Greece declared independance from the Roman empire.' he said. 'And... it didn't go so well: Rome denied their request, causing them to rebel, and attack nearby Roman territory.' He really couldn't afford to be dishonest here. They would pick up on any attempt at deception in an instant and the consequences didn't bare thinking about. 'However,' he continued. 'Due to the amount of Romans living in Greek territory, the new legis..., er, legista...' 'Legislation?' Devu inquired helpfully. 'Yeah!' said the spy triumphantly. 'the New Greek legislation has taken new... "measures" to ensure the laws are obeyed. Which has proven very successful. So succesful in fact, as to have them used in the war.' 'You are referring to your Sentinel "knock-offs", as they call them, no? said Devu, his words full of poison. 'LIROP mechs, yes' he conceded grudgingly.' New Greece is decimating the Roman-controlled territories up north, and will soon have conquered up to the border of the Scandinavian Union!' 'That certainly presents a problem.' said what (SPY_NAME) had come to know simply as "the Voice". 'They were once a peaceful nation and now... There must be an ulterior motive to their aggressive actions, am I correct?' [Every'' detail about new greece is to be put here, Majora. An replace (SPY_NAME) with the spy's real name when you figure it out.] The First Great Man 'Lord Tanzim' said Anathema as she approched the emperor's throne. 'I have discovered some rather disconcerting news from out contact at the Roman...' 'Not now, Anathema.' said Tanzim in his usual jovial tone. 'Do continue, Xavrin.' Anathema looked slightly to the left and saw a tall, hunched over figure in the shadows. It was the same man who had been sitting next to Tanzim in the meeting that had taken place only a week ago. She distinctly remembered him cursing the Greeks and pausing mid-sentence when Tanzim brought her presence to his attention. 'Yes, well.' said Xavrin in a voice slightly higher and shakier than the one he had used in the meeting. 'The plans were delivered to young Ire. Orselius, as you requested. He in turn has delivered it to his majesty Augustus and the emperor has given the go-ahead for the project's construction.' The emperor did not look pleased, in fact he looked rather disappointed. He covered his eyes and mumbled under his breath in words that nether Xavrin or Anathema could understand. He then assumed his regular position on the throne and signalled his protégé to speak. 'As I was saying, sir,' she said reading of an info-panel. 'Our contact in the Rome has recently learned of the aforementioned professor Orselius' dismissal from the Institute of Advanced Technologies and suspension from all activities pertaining to...' She attempted to decipher the rest of the message mentally. Though she was well trained in many languages, including Latin, she found it difficult to translate proper nouns directly to Xanju. 'Project: Machine... Death... Supreme...(?)' she said looking rather puzzled. 'I personally prefer Project Wraith.' said Xavrin. This got him a stern look from the emperor. He immediately re-assumed his silence. Anathema gave up and read the message in it's original text:'Machina morte suprema' she said, looking for an answer from ether of the two stood before her. The latter two exchanged looks of bewilderment. Tanzim turned this over in his mind and came out with: 'Machine of Final Death, my dear' he said glumly. 'Translating directly from Latin, Final meaning DEFINITE. I believe it to be, given the function of the weapon, an accurate though rather-grammatically-flawed name.' After this, Tanzim signaled both of them to leave, saying he needed time to think. Anathema took translated this to "I need to figure out how my old friend could agree to such a nefarious plan of action!" in her mind. While she was walking down a small corridor, she saw Xavrin standing in an archway holding a small info-panel. She had met Xavrin several years earlier but she had never heard him speak as much as he had these past week. She knew he was old, very old. Some said he had lived for centuries, implying him to be some kind of vampire. Anathema doubted this but was still very interested in him. He always kept his eyes covered with a vale and wore clothing similar to the emperor. Anyone who looked at him for more than ten seconds tended to get a feeling that their minutes were numbered. 'So what was all of that about?' she said, leaning on a column opposite him. 'Hmm? I thought you knew Tanzim very well?' he replied, not looking up from the info-panel. 'I...' began Anathema. She stopped because she knew he was right, she should know the answer. 'I do.' 'But...?' said Xavrin, almost daring to look up. 'I've never seen him so... entranced by one subject.' she rummaged through her mind in order to find the answer, but to no avail. 'Why is this so important?' 'One word' said Xavrin, now looking directly at her. 'Nevuchavazin.' Anathema recognised the name immediately , and then the answer came flooding back into her mind. She thanked him for his time, as was customary, and strode back to the great hall where Tanzim was still staring at the info-panel Xavrin had given him. Anathema remembered the day he told her of how force was not always the answer to a problem. She remembered him telling her of how Nevuchavazin the Great, first king of the Xanji Empire, built the imperium not on the blade of a knife, but on the nib of pen: Nevu always believed that knowledge was, in-fact, the ultimate power. One of his many famous quotes was "You can't win a fight if you do not know how to punch". She was always told, even by Greeks teachers, that Nevuchavazin was one of the most wonderful people know to the world. He brought knowledge and peace to the empires of Earth and left a legacy of charity and scientific understanding. Truly, he was "The First Great Man" of the world. Because of this, Anathema new that Tanzim would do ANYTHING in his power to avoid war. She knew that when he heard the news of Augustus' complacency with the project, he was filled to the brim with guilt and anger that such a "civilized" man would be willing to commit an act of genocide. She thought to herself: 'Could he have planned for this? Did he intentionally give Orelies the plans? Could he have done this in order to stir distrust within the ranks of the Roman empire, and maybe all the others involved?' So many questions, yet so little answers presented themselves. She believed, above all else, Tanzim would NOT let himself become the "First Tyrant" of the Xanji. 'So why did he agree?' she inquired, approaching th throne. 'Your guess...' started Tanzim, his eyes still fixed on the info-panel. He would often respond or start a conversation by using parts of well know phrases. 'I mean, according to texts and biographies, you two have a lot in common.' she said, knowing that he understood what she meant. 'Indeed.' he said. 'Augustus would rather sit down with a Terror Bird and try to settle their differences by "chatting", than try to shoot it.' Terror Birds. Another example of Xanji ingenuity: a species that had been extinct for well over ten thousand years, brought back to life with a single strand of DNA. There were several of them in the Temple ei Irium hunting grounds (their speed made them very good mounts for hunting vermin), and many more in the lowlands (where there presence as pest control was greatly needed). In Tanzim's opinion, his people were too smart for their own good. He always said: We're not conquerors, people just use our accidental discoveries to build weapons, very powerful weapons, for their own use. This was all too true, the Persians being a prime example of how knowledge used in the wrong hands could be devastating. 'Perhaps he has been forced to agree?' said Anathema, knowing the response would be: 'I do not think so, Augustus is not easily intimidated by anyone.' 'Brainwashed?' inquired the young protégé. This was greeted with a "not likely" look from her master. Another thing the Xanji were famous for. she thought to herself. 'A more likely solution may be that he doesn't understand how much damage this weapon does.' said Tanzim, looking up from the panel for the first time since the conversation had started. 'I maid it quite clear on the plans!' They decided to call it quits and left for their weekly dinner together. Anathema had always enjoyed them. She remembered the first time she came to the palace, the day she was freed from a slave market in New Greece buy a man who looked very similar to Xavrin, but younger. She remembered a massive meal, on a table covered in silk. She could not hold herself back and literally dived into the meal, unaware that Tanzim was sitting at the opposite end of the table. She was a slave once, but now she was one of the most important people in the world (anyone who was close to Tanzim was considered important). She never could figure out how he really felt about her, but she felt as though he had subtle admiration of her. One of the many topics they frequently discussed was her parents. He once asked her: 'How long has it been since you spoke to them?' She replied: 'A few months now.' 'A few MONTHS!? Well then send them a postcard, girl!' he cried. And then they would make jokes and laugh until they retired to their chambers. Your Mission... this part, Antony gets teamed up with the Greek spy; Dijannu, the Inventor; and Rezxa, the SDTM's best female assassin. The Last of Her Kind this chapter we introduce the Hydronian, Xetra. She has many, many skills and tests the team to it's full potential Infiltration Self-explanitory Beneath the Temple again, self explanitory War Machine reveal how the devce works and have a stand off between the Team and Devu's soldiers Last Stand MORE TIME! SELF EXPLANITORY! Debriefing I say anything? Just the Beginning it is, I assure you. (Miniacal laugh) Awards for this story Story of the month trophy.jpeg|May 2013 Trivia *The character of Tanzim of Rhoss is based loosely based on Lord Vetinari, from the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchet and partly on Galactic Crucible's commander Zhang. *This was the first Tandem story written on the wiki. * *Your Trivia Here Category:Articles by User:Pschycron Category:Stories Category:Articles by User:WikiBuilder1147 Category:Tandem stories Category:Majoras Articles!!!